Spirit of Crystal: Story Starter
by DesertAnubis
Summary: Story Starters are for you to continue. Atem wakes up to find himself in a palace of crystal, and finds that Yugi has changed for the worse...


Story Starter

Spirit of Crystal

*Story starters are meant for you to finish. For more info, see my userpage here: .net/u/2078100/

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The metal roof was the first thing that met the man's eyes. He stared at it for a moment, his brow furrowed. From what he could remember, that wasn't supposed to be there.

Nor was the room, for that matter.

He sat up. He had spiky black hair with a tint of red, as well as golden bangs and streaks of gold. His eyes were a clear, deep violet, and he was dressed in a blue jacket and blue pants. Underneath the jacket was a black t-shirt. He also wore belts - two around his waist, one around his neck, and one on each wrist. As he sat up, though, the ones around his wrists were halted, and he looked down.

Thin silver chains connected his wrists to the bed. His frown deepened, and he tugged on one. It didn't break or bend, as far as he could tell. He looked around.

He was sitting on a bed, and the room itself was rather small, with another bed on the other side, and a narrow alley between them. The room was fit to the beds: no other spaces, except down, were open. Down, he realized, meant several beds down: there were several underneath him, with enough room to sit up before the next bed came. A ladder stood near the head, connecting them with the floor. An ambient glow filled the whole room with light.

The man had companions. At least two, both on the other side, one directly across, and one on the third bed down. He couldn't see those on his side, so there were probably more.

"Hey," He whispered, uncertain of the whole situation. The one across from him looked up, then rolled onto his other side, though one of his hands was still drawn away by the chain.

The newcomer blinked in surprise, then looked down at the other one. "What's going on?"

"You're not allowed to ask, and they're not allowed to say." He shrugged. "My name's Toubo. You got a name?"

"It's... Yugi." He looked down at his wrist, then scooted back, trying to reach it with his other hand to undo it, but it was no good - these weren't his usual belts, and were welded closed.

At the name, though, everyone stared at him. Those who were in the room all craned their necks to see him, and even the one across from him rolled back over to stare.

"What is it?" He asked when he noticed.

"Thou art not the Master." The one across from him spat. "Stay thy lying tongue, snake, that we should not be put to death for thy folly."

He frowned, and Toubo said, "That name belongs to the Master. It's forbidden to have that name. If you don't want to get yourself tortured, you'll pick another name and get used to it, even if that _is_ your real name."

"Oh." The newcomer digested that for a moment, then asked, "Yugi is the 'Master'? How... who is he? Have you seen him? Are we prisoners, or slaves?"

Even Toubo was getting agitated now. "Stop, stop talking! Don't say his name! You'll get us all tortured!" He hissed.

He stopped and inclined his head. "Forgive me. I'm a little disoriented. I meant no harm."

Toubo peered over the edge, then looked up again. "Just keep yourself quiet and learn as you go. We all did." He softened. "But it's okay. They're a little more lenient when you're new." He paused, looking down again, then asked, "Hey, are you gonna tell us your real name? Or can I think up a nickname? Ah, I suppose they'll get your real name soon enough anyway, but it's nice to know before that."

"It's... Atem."

"Atem, huh?" Toubo cocked his head, then rolled away. "Well, better hush up now. They'll be along soon to take us out to work anyway. Get as much sleep as you can: you'll need it."

Scarcely three seconds later, the door opened, and every one of them flinched. Atem peered over the edge, and to his surprise, his chains leapt from the bed, wove together, and the single chain left trailed down. "Down!" The creature far below commanded, and there was a mass exodus as the prisoners crowded the ladder. Atem frowned, then swung onto the ladder with practiced grace, and started down.

The alley was too small to hold them all, so as they got off the ladder, they headed out after the creature, who was revealed to be a human dressed in living, plated armor. He looked rather like Joey had when he had fused with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Atem dropped off the ladder, and his chain condensed, his wrists snapping together. The length, he could see, was now connected to something inside the man's mailed hand. Even as he looked, the chains were pulled tight by some strange force, and he stumbled forward. That sure looked a lot like Joey.

"Joey?"

The mailed man turned, and his eyes met Atem's. It wasn't Joey, but Atem had attracted attention. The other slaves ducked to either side, out of the way. Atem was tugged forward. The man bent down and gazed him directly in the eye. "You're the new one." His hand came out, and Atem retreated instinctively, but the chains pulled him closer. The mailed man, rather more burly than Joey, seized Atem by the throat. "You're powerful, and feisty too." He cocked his head, then smirked. "Then I shall offer you to the Master. He might actually refrain from eating your soul."

Atem didn't like the sound of that.

The throne room was carved out of blue crystal, and the throne was the crown of it all. Sitting upon it was a young man, similar in appearance to Atem. Upon seeing this, though, Atem felt a great shock erupt in his mind. _What happened? From the way they were talking... he would never do something like this!_

Yugi, the Master, and a former comrade of Atem's, stirred as the guard brought the prisoner forward. "Well, well, well, look here!" He laughed, but it was a cold, cruel laugh, not the pure one Atem knew. "Took you long enough, _Pharaoh_."

"Yugi..."

The one in armor jerked him back to gaze at him, frowning, and bristled. "Why didn't you come?" He hissed, but the next moment, he was thrown against the wall. Atem stared at him, then up at Yugi, who was bristling, arm outstretched.

"You will not interfere in MY game! Get out!"

He scrambled away with purpose.

Atem turned back to Yugi, taking up a firmer stance. His chains were still locked together, but at least he was standing on his own. "Yugi, what happened? Why are you doing this?"

Yugi sat back, his expression thoughtful. "Well, I _started_ because I realized I wasn't growing anymore. I didn't age at all, Atem." He sounded more like the old Yugi, a little curious, perhaps. But put in context made it feel worse. "I came to Egypt because I didn't want my friends to worry. Marik and Ishizu were kind enough in the beginning, but they grew old. I decided to learn magic to pass the time.

"I learned how to 'fish' for souls in the Afterlife. I wanted to talk to you, so I just started fishing, and if I got the wrong one, I'd send them back." He paused, and his face darkened. He still sounded like Yugi, but a hurt and betrayed one. "But I couldn't find you. I told each soul to tell you to come find me, but you didn't come." The chains on Atem's wrists leaped to life, flying towards the throne, where Yugi seized them. "You wouldn't come. I even started fishing the same souls, who said they'd told you."

"I never... Yugi, I would have come if I had known..." Atem said weakly. He couldn't remember any spirits approaching, about Yugi or otherwise.

"You did not." Yugi spat, tugging on the chains. Atem stumbled forward, flinching. Now, Yugi sounded like the new, strange one, cold and cruel. "You did not, so I started keeping the souls. I imprisoned them, enslaved them. They built this for me, you know. Because you wouldn't come. I expected you to come then, to save the world, because no one else could stop me. I even decided to keep Téa, Joey, and all our other friends, once they passed on. I used them to take over the world. But you still didn't come, and no one struck me down with divine justice." He paused, sounding innocent again. "You'd be surprised how many people figured themselves heroes and tried to challenge me."

"Yugi, I..." Atem winced and looked down. "How long has it been?" He dreaded the answer, but Yugi seemed to take great delight in it.

"Five thousand years." He pulled Atem closer, drawing him in like he was fishing. Atem had to be quick to keep from stumbling on the steps. Yugi pulled him closer until he passed a layer of magic. Underneath, he felt the terrible presence, an his knees nearly buckled. Yugi hadn't just learned magic; he had become immeasurably powerful. He resisted instinctively, afraid of the evil before him. Yugi's smirk was terrifying. "Do you happen to remember how long five thousand years is, Atem?"

The ancient spirit looked away. "I... I slept. I was dormant during that time."

Yugi's delight increased. "Then face five thousand years, Pharaoh!" He raised his hand, and Atem mouthed the words of the counterspell.

The world darkened, and Yugi drew him closer, the chains jerking to either side of him, forcing Atem to bend over the throne, a hand next to each of Yugi's arms. He ducked his head, and Yugi seized his chin, lifting it with a terrible, alien strength. Yugi leaned forward, and Atem's wrists were still fastened to the throne behind him. They were eye to eye; Yugi could see the fear very clearly in Atem's eyes, and the pharaoh could see the cruelty, the frozen hatred in the Master's. "It isn't that easy, Atem. I had five thousand years to study while you were _sleeping_."

~The End~

Where are they? Where is this temple of crystal? Is it in only one spot, or are there more? Or does the crystal encompass the entire earth?  
Who is the man in armor? Is it actually Joey, just changed over five thousand years?  
Where are the others? Joey, Tristan, Téa, Seto, Mokuba, Marik, Ishizu, Bakura, etc.?  
It makes more sense if Yugi tried to enter the Afterlife. Can he even enter? If so, how did that go?  
What was Atem doing in the Afterlife that prevented him from learning about Yugi's plight sooner?  
What is the extent of Yugi's power? Just what is he capable of now?  
What about Atlantis? Is it a sanctuary, now that Lord Dartz has become good? Or does Yugi control him, too? Does it even exist anymore?  
What about the Shadow Realm, and all of the Shadow Creatures/Duel Monsters? What are they up to? Are they free to fight, or are they Yugi's slaves as well?

And how will Yugi ever become good again? Will he? Or will this story end in darkness...?

It's all up to you ;)


End file.
